NEWS PROJECTION LIGHTS & STAGING NEWS Tiny Foggers Honored for Technological Achievement BEVERLY HILLS, CA — The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced winners of its annual Scientific and Technical Academy Awards, presented at The Beverly Wilshire on Feb. 9. Unlike other Academy Awards, achievements receiving Scientific and Technical Awards need not have been developed and introduced during 2007. Instead, they must demonstrate a proven record of contributing significant value to the process of making motion pictures. One such award was presented to Jörg Pöhler and Rüdiger Kleinke of Ottec Technology GmbH for the design and development of the battery-operated series of fog machines known as “Tiny Foggers.” The Academy lauded the operating characteristics of these <strong>com</strong>pact, remotecontrollable units, saying they help create a range of safe special effects that would be totally impractical with larger, more conventional fog units. Spider-Man 3, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, The Producers and The Pink Panther starring Steve Martin are among the feature films that have used the units, which are small enough to fit in the palm of a hand. “We congratulate Ottec on this great honor and we are proud to be a part of the great success of these machines,” said Kirsten Eicher of Look Solutions, which is the exclusive distributor of the fog machines. The first Tiny-Fogger entered the market in 1998, the first machines small enough to be concealed in costumes and small props. This was followed by the Tiny-Compact, an all-in-one version, which came on the market in 2000, followed by the more powerful Power-Tiny in 2003. In 2007, Look Solutions presented new versions, Tiny F07 and Tiny C07, with a more robust vaporizer and other refinements. Other film industry technological innovations in the top 10 this year included advances in makeup, camera dollies, film emulsion and software that enhances the appearance of fluids and gaseous effects on screen. Super Bowl Halftime Show as Intense as Ever continued from cover Butts credited the Virtuoso console’s V6.0 software for his ability to make “extensive use of multiple cue stacks, wave-based effects, and bump/flash features. We used the Mbox pixel map software for the Color- Blasts under the stage, all 600 of them,” he added. “Utilizing a pixel map, rather than running the units directly from the console, saved a lot of time both in troubleshooting and in programming.” Lighting director Matt Firestone operated a second Virtuoso system, which controlled several hundred automated fixtures and effects, including Mac 2000 Washes, VL3500 Washes and VL5 Arcs. Some of these fixtures were mounted on trusses suspended 120 feet over the end zones and some were mounted on the balcony rails in front of the top seating sections. There were also VL5 Arcs on two 70-foot vertical trusses that were hung to the left and right behind the band. Everyone involved in the production, it seemed, felt the pressure of the event’s enormous time constraints. “This show was a challenge,” said Dave Hyslop, project manager for XL Touring Video, which supplied the video screens used for the show. Even though XLTV could begin its move-in preparations Jan. 23, well in advance of the game, Hyslop needed to have the screens “deployed and ready with content in four minutes.” XLTV provided nine of Main Light Industries’ Soft-LED Scrim curtains, each of which was hung from Main Light’s Soft-Motion systems, with Robb Wagner/Simulated Inc. providing the animation content. Giovanni Ciranni of Main Light engineered the system, working closely with Hyslop to deploy the screens within the allotted time. Because no one had the power to stop the clock, careful planning was essential. “To make the lighting system work, nearly 150 From left, Jörg Pöhler, Kirsten Eicher, Rüdiger Kleinke and Nathan Kahn of Ottec Technology and Look Solutions. separate connections needed to be made, including trailing four 150-foot sets of 4/0 feeder,” said PRG’s Tony Ward, vice president, television and special events. “We isolated each cart for Tom Petty’s stage and, in most cases, fit it with a single Series <strong>40</strong>0 cable, which meant that most carts required only one cable [for power and data] connecting to the S<strong>40</strong>0 rack,” Ward said. After the performance, all the connections were quickly undone and the carts were swiftly removed from the field. Within 48 hours PRG had removed all of its gear from the stadium, filling nine 53-foot trucks. Ad info:http:// www.plsn.<strong>com</strong>/instant-info USITT Wel<strong>com</strong>ing Input for NEC Code Revisions SYRACUSE, NY — Are there parts of the National Electrical Code that do not make sense to you? Would some changes to the language or addition of new material help you in your job? Is your inspector simply confused by awkward and unfamiliar requirements? You can do something about it. The USITT’s Engineering Commission has announced that it’s time once more to start the tri-annual revision process leading to the creation of the 2011 edition of the National Electrical Code, which can help with the above situations. The NEC revision process begins with proposals to revise the Code submitted by the general public. The proposals for the 2011 edition will be due on Nov. 7, 2008. As in the past, the USITT Engineering Commission will serve to coordinate proposals for NEC Code revisions. By reviewing everyone’s proposals, the <strong>com</strong>mission hopes to strengthen them and present a collective position to the Code panels. The <strong>com</strong>mission also notes that the general public is also free to present proposals directly to the NFPA. Interested parties can get more information and submit their proposed revisions to: Ken Vannice, Chair, USITT NEC Committee Leviton / NSI / Colortran 20497 SW Teton Ave. Tualatin, OR 97062 E-mail: KVannice@Leviton.<strong>com</strong> Letters to the Editor Truth and Light I teach lighting design at Wichita State University. I really enjoyed your article on booth lighting in the January issue of <strong>PLSN</strong> (LD at Large – It’s the Product, Stupid). In it I find many truths applicable to all sorts of lighting design. With your permission I’d love to copy your article and give it to my students to read. And, by the way, I don’t have a class in booth lighting, but I do address it in my advanced lighting classes and set design classes. Trade shows and the like are a very important and lucrative part of the lighting design world and students need to learn that there is much more than just straight plays out there. — David Neville, assistant professor of scenic and lighting design, Wichita State University Gobo Fine I have been a long time fan of LD at Large, and have really found a boatload of information and inspiration from them. It’s not too often that reading something on the Internet can get a reaction from me like It’s the Product, Stupid (<strong>PLSN</strong>, January 2008, LD at Large). Every line, every observation is something I have thought multiple times before in shows or trade show/events of any kind, especially the part, “There ought to be a fine for unnecessary gobo usage.” I choked on my cold shop coffee. Just want to say thanks for reminding me there are similar minds out there. Keep up the great writing. — Brian Hatten, lighting director, Atlanta Sound and Lighting CORRECTION Due to an editing error, a reference to the Air Transat 20 th Anniversary celebration in Montreal, Quebec on <strong>page</strong> 18 of the Feb. 2008 <strong>PLSN</strong> included the wrong photo. The correct photo for that event appears below. 6 <strong>PLSN</strong> MARCH 2008
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